<p>I have a older Buick that the paint is cracking on. It sat outside for 2 years or so in the sun/rain/snow before i could get it moved inside.</p> <p><img border="0" src="http://www.shat.org/pic1.jpg" width="800" height="600"></p> <p> </p> <p>I'm planning on stripping the car completely myself and fixing any rust that I find, priming the car and then taking it to be painted to cut some of the cost where i can. I was curious why the paint was cracking, so i pulled up a little bit of the paint and this is what i found.</p> <p> </p> <p><img border="0" src="http://www.shat.org/pic2.jpg" width="800" height="600"></p> <p><img border="0" src="http://www.shat.org/pic3.jpg" width="800" height="600"></p> <p>looks like bare metal to me.. would the primer coat come up with the paint and leave bare metal underneath or did they not primer this car before they sprayed it?</p> <p> </p> <p>Either way, any suggestions on the best way to strip a car? how much time should i set aside for the task of stripping it?</p>
Poor body prep work. Looks like no sealer was applied and rust formed under the paint. I would suggest chemical stripper/Methylene Chloride that you can get from Home Depot called Strip-X. Cost about $13-15/gall. Expect to take some time to strip the entire car. I would suggest your remove all trim (bumpers, emblems, drip rail, door handles, locks, grills, etc) and the strip the car. I would not do any primer work to it. Once done stripping, use acetone or lacquer thinner to remove and left-over residue. Now, use a brush and brush down the entire car with phosphoric acid. Let it sit overnight. It will turn any rust to iron phosphate (black substance) then you can take it to the body shop. Here is a pic of the acid to get at Home Depot.
Thanks for the info. How long can the car sit after I strip/acid coat it? I'd like to knock out the actual stripping/coating in a day (can pull parts before, that doesn't factor into the time). But the car might sit until I have the extra cash to get it painted. That's why I was considering applying the primer coat myself. Or should I just wait until I'm ready to get it painted and then do it all at once?
Stripping the car by chemical stripper will not take just a day. If you are going to do door jambs, trunk jambs, etc, plan on at least 4-5 days. There is a lot of disassembly and cleaning. Once you phosphoric acid wash it, it can sit for weeks. I would suggest your strip the car, acid wash and then take to the painter in a time frame of a month or two. As for primer, it will absorb moisture causing rust as you have found. The new epoxy primers are good and should be left to the professionals.
I HIGHLY recommend you do ONE PANEL AT A TIME. Strip the panel, be is sanding or chemical and then get it into primer before going to another. A few panels at a time is ok if you find that one is easy for you. Doing a complete strip is a HUGE job and SERIOUSLY overwhelming for most people. I have seen a LOT of these projects never finished because the owner is so overwhelmed. The last restoration project I did for someone was a 59 Bug Eye Sprite that was COMPLETLEY covered in rust because he had stripped it, didn't PROPERLY treat it and was OVERWHELMED. If you use a chemical stripper be ready with a large drop cloth under the area of the car you are doing. Duct tape the seams on the panel you are stripping so the stripper doens't go into them. It is VERY, VERY hard to get this stuff out of nooks and crannies. You DO NOT want to get them in caulked seams, this is a death sentence to the caulking and it is VERY hard to get it all out. Just tape it off and then sand that little area out later. Look into a plastic media stripper in your area, it is money well spent. One more thing, you can NOT leave ONE SINGLE SPECK of this stripper residue on the metal. You MUST clean it all off. Talk to the painter you plan on having shoot the car, he may have some suggestions to what he would like as a base for the paint. Brian
